"...determination is the key to success in politics, in the broadest sense of the word. You don't need many resources to make your voice heard when you are defending a cause you believe to be just..." Padre André Sibomana

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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

For DRC what is Important, Justice or Peace?

A number of articles have been written on the prospects of
justice for the victims (especially Hutu refugees) of the Congo wars. Just to
mention a few, Professor Filip Reyntjens argues that given the complexities of realpolitic,
it is unlikely that the main architects of the killings will be brought to
justice. Impunity will continue to reign and “We will all be guilty of the fact
that millions of vulnerable civilians in Central Africa continue to be
threatened by strategies of violence unleashed by leaders who enjoy total
immunity.”

Writing for Congo Siasa blog, Jason Stearns tells us that
human rights groups are asking Congo’s President Joseph Kabila to set up a
tribunal operating under Congo’s jurisdiction. However, it is unclear whether
Kabila will accept this recommendation.

An opinion piece by Lleka Atoki, DRC’s ambassador to the UN,makes it clear that the next step will not be
an easy one. To his credit, Ambassador Atoki is among a handful number of
African leaders who have commended the report, saying, “The report is detailed
and credible, and we welcome its publication.” But, as he carefully explains,
the DRC government needs to balance the need for justice with the need for
peace. In his own words, “Justice and peace should work together.”

The most serious of the crimes in the report targeted Hutu
refugees and Hutus of Congolese nationality; also known as Banyarwanda. As the
report details, the killings were of a systematic nature and executed in a way
that cruelly resembles the 1994 Rwanda genocide. Crude instruments such as hoes
and hammers were the preferred weapon of choice—sadistically done so to
maximize the victim’s pain.

Reading the report one has to wonder why this information has
been kept secret for the time that it has. If the world had truly agonized over
the Rwanda Genocide, how could they remain indifferent as a new wave of
killings occured?

In March 1998, US President Bill Clinton made a brief stop
at the Kigali International Airport to issue what is now known as the “Cintonian
apology”. Yet, only a few hundred miles
away, the killings were still on course. And the perpetrators were the new
Rwandan government that hosted him.

I do believe that some form of justice is necessary if only
to prevent a repeat of these horrors. As some have suggested, it is likely that
the RPF army would have restrained themselves had they been prosecuted for the
killings they committed between 1990-4 period. But the ICTR accorded them
complete impunity.

At the same time, we should not be too cynical as to
trivialize the importance of these UN report. It is the first time that Rwandan
forces are being cautioned. Rwanda under Paul Kagame is increasingly
becoming autocratic. This document could be used as a leverage to push for democratic
commitment and respect for human rights. More specifically, we need to push for
media freedom and the unconditional release of journalists, political
dissidents and human rights activists. After
all, when all is said and done, the present matters much more than the past.